


Uppercut

by skymong



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: 2min are besties because it feels right, Alternate Universe - Boxing, Athletes, Bang Chan is a Panicked Gay, Blood and Injury, Boxing, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Smut, M/M, Minho loves plants, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Professional Boxing, Slow Burn, Sports, cat daddy Minho, physical violence, this will be explicit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:33:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28363962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skymong/pseuds/skymong
Summary: Ever wondered what would happen if two boxing rivals fell in love?Let's find out.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Comments: 21
Kudos: 40





	Uppercut

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this first part written since September but then kept getting distracted by other stuff, so I figured I'd finally post it as an ongoing chaptered story. Hopefully the feedback will motivate me and give me the confidence to keep writing this :'')
> 
> So, dear readers, i welcome you to try this bad boy on for size!

  
Minho wasn’t one to back down from a challenge.

So when his best friend and manager Seungmin told him that the _known boxing legend Bang Chan_ personally requested to train with him, he didn’t hesitate to agree right away without a second thought. He ended the phone call and got back to preparing his breakfast, whistling softly.

In hindsight, he should’ve thought about it for a few more seconds, maybe weighed his options, considered pros and cons.

He didn’t know much about the guy besides that he was Australian and considered one of the best boxing pros of his division. He’d seen just a handful of his bouts but the guy’s technique, which left even their seniors awestruck, was hard to forget. He was incredible at utilizing his strength and issuing powerful yet precise blows that could leave his opponents practically incapacitated within seconds.

But Minho wasn’t that bad himself.  
He’d started his career later, but had already been named a rising star of the next generation of professional boxers. He was considered an agile and evasive fighter who was known for exceeding the Critics’ expectations and flooring his opponents with sharp moves and cunning tactics.

The two young talents were rather different in their fighting approach, but maybe that was exactly the reason for Bang Chan’s sudden interest.

  
  
  


Now Minho figured he should find out more about his future training partner.  
Maybe knowing more about him would help with the nerves that started rising after Seungmin texted him a link to an article that unfortunately (or fortunately?) featured high quality portraits of the other boxer.

He was handsome, so what? No big deal! Minho has faced good-looking opponents before, surely his initial interest would die down or he’ll be able to channel all those feelings in the fight and make it look like just a regular passionate match between two highly skilled fighters.

He could handle it, surely. He may be out of the closet to his friends and family, but the boxing world was a harder nut to crack.  
And crushing on a fellow fighter, especially an opponent, just felt like too much of a hassle.

But he figured things would change anyway once he met the Aussie, who would probably turn out to be just another knuckle-headed jock like the rest of them.

Maybe.

  
  


______________________  
  


A week passed, with Seungmin sending him article after article on Bang Chan’s achievements like he was still trying to convince Minho. He had half a thought to tell him off but honestly, some of those articles actually looked quite interesting and maybe it couldn’t hurt to try and find out more about this supposed wunderkind.

He was finishing his morning routine of caring for his cats while leisurely watering his various hanging plants around his apartment and jamming to his playlist, when he realized he still hadn’t actually taken the time to check out his ever-growing pile of Bang Chan content provided by his persistent manager.  
Maybe today was going to be the day.

“Hey sweetie.” he whispered to his youngest fur-child Dori, who had come over to play with his Burro’s Tail in the pot he had placed on the floor. He was grateful that his home’s windows faced mostly south, which allowed for just enough sun to let his succulents thrive in his modest two-bedroom apartment.

“This is why I can’t have any bigger plants.” he sighed and gently pushed Dori toward the other two felines playing with a more appropriate object. Though only slightly more appropriate, it was the curtain string after all. The cats loved to routinely ignore his dozens of carefully and lovingly handcrafted cat toys in favor of dangerous items and sometimes even literal trash.

Ah, the perks of being a cat owner.

He finished his morning yoga session - which he had incorporated into his daily routine to help his muscles recover from the abuse they endured during his boxing bouts; then gave his healing knuckles one more once-over and finally allowed himself to sit down in front of his laptop to start looking at some of the copious links he’d received.

  
  
  


After almost an hour of browsing through those articles and getting intrigued enough to look up videos of the guy, Minho found himself with a new type of interest in the boxing Aussie. 

Which isn’t really what he was looking to get out of this.

But the way this dude appeared so friendly in every single interview –

_“Thank you so much for having me, this was such an honor.”_

– and the way he showed so much genuine interest in every topic he was asked about –

_“Wow, such a deep question! Well, I used to think about that a lot…”_

– made him out to be such a charming and approachable guy.

At some point Minho’s concentration started shifting towards other things though. But who can blame him? Those perfectly toned arms were seemingly always on display and those deep enchanting dimples were actually so distracting they should be illegal. Or at the very least, come with a warning.

Minho spent a while studying the guy’s moves, watching clip after clip of his victories. The way he held himself in the ring, his brute force yet clever maneuvers unexpected from a brawler like Chan.

Minho seldom needed reminders of just how much he enjoyed every aspect of boxing, but getting to ogle all the jocks that would’ve picked on him back in high school up close was pretty high on his list.

This particular jock seemed to not want to leave his mind now and Minho kept running through scenarios in his head of what their first bout would turn out to be like.

It excited him to imagine that pretty dimpled smile falter with his first hit and watch those puppy eyes glint in shock as Minho would dodge blow after blow, like a cat evading every attempt at its capture.

That’s what he imagined their dynamic to be, a beguiling play between cat and dog.  
If boxing was as staged as wrestling, he thinks the two of them could really wow the audience with some type of archenemies narrative.

And to be honest, he would love to see him and Chan become close, see where a budding friendship could lead.

  
  


But- Minho was getting ahead of himself, he hasn’t actually met the guy yet. He could still somehow turn out to be a total douche, like Minho had initially hoped.

He figured it was time to give his mind a rest before it wandered too far, just as his phone’s screen lit up with a new kkt message.

  
  


**mini manager >:) 9:36 am**

_hey remember that juice bar i talked about?_

_the one all the cool people go to_

_let’s hang out there for brunch_

  
  
  


Yes, Minho remembered Seungmin constantly mentioning some new juice bar he’d discovered that he’s been wanting to go to. Maybe he thought Minho wasn’t getting the hint and he finally gathered up his courage to ask him to come along.

  
  
  


**minho is cute ;P 9:36 am**

_oooh is this a date? ;)_

  
  


**mini manager >:) 9:37 am**

_gross_

_come on_

  
  


**minho is cute ;P 9:37 am**

_alright alright kk_

_be there in a few, your treat :x_

  
  


**mini manager >:) 9:38 am**

_you’re the worst -_-_

  
  
  


______________________

  
  
  


He met Seungmin during his third year in University, just at the conclusion of his ever-dwindling interest in academics. Seungmin was a freshman with the brightest smile Minho had ever seen and a personality that could be a stand-in for the definition of the word diligent. It was incredibly obnoxious, to say the least.

Of course Minho had no plans to befriend him and it would’ve been the end of that if it weren’t for the younger’s persistence and charm weakening his walls day by day, little by little.

Until one fateful night, when Minho had dragged the kid to a party in an attempt so watch him embarrass himself, yet they ended up both so drunk off their minds that they found themselves sitting on the porch stairs of a stranger’s house; crying on each others’ shoulders and confessing their deepest wishes to one another.

That was the night Minho first voiced his dream of getting into professional boxing. That was also the night Minho learned to actually appreciate Seungmin’s positive attitude and supportive words.  
And, as it turned out, the younger was just as clueless as him when it came to his own future, all he knew was that he had no interest in becoming a lawyer like his father.

That night, despite being too drunk to think straight, the two made a pact to help each other in their endeavors.

Minho would train harder to turn his hobby into a career while Seungmin would go against his parents’ wishes and change his major to something more flexible. Minho even offered to be Seungmin’s muse for his photography to which Seungmin promptly expelled the contents of his stomach onto the stranger’s lawn and they fled the scene stumbling and giggling, as they felt freer than ever before.

And thus, a life-long friendship had sprouted which neither boy would ever trade for the world.

  
  
  


______________________

  
  


Now, Minho grabbed his keys and headed out to meet his friend, choosing to go on foot to let the fresh air help clear his mind.  
Bounding down the stairs with a spring in his step, he even opted for a longer, more scenic route with a view of the Han River in the distance.

  
  


It wasn’t long until his walk indeed stripped him of his troubles, the light breeze and the petrichor still in the air after an early morning summer shower easing his worries for a while.

  
  


He was just a few steps away from _Exsqueezite_ ’s entrance, completely absorbed in watching birds hopping around near a patch of grass, when suddenly he felt a hard wall collide with him, causing him to land painfully on his butt.

“Oh gosh I’m so sorry, man!” He heard a guy’s worried voice before a strong pale arm came into view, offering to help him back up.

He looked up at the arm’s owner and was perplexed to find the dude he’s been trying to avoid thinking about gazing down at him with furrowed brows.

“Ah, it’s fine! Thanks, though.” He replied as he denied the offer while getting up on his own with ease. Possibly trying to impress the man in front of him, but who’s to say.

Giving Chan one of his patented Minho™ smirks, he righted himself and mindlessly wiped down his clothes, using that as an excuse to hide his eagerness to talk to the guy.

He finally looked up when it felt like minutes passed and he still hadn’t said anything, only to find the guy practically glaring at him.

“Wha-“

“I’m-“ he started, but then took a second to look down at the ground before trying again. Was this dude blushing?

“Lee Minho, right?” he didn’t wait for an answer.

“I can’t believe this. I’m gonna kill Binsung.” He murmured finally and without another glance at the other he practically stormed off.

Minho stood there for quite a while, watching the man’s figure becoming smaller until he disappeared around a corner and Minho was left still standing there dazed and confused.

What the fuck just happened?

Once he had regained his composure he looked around for a surface to sit on and wait for Seungmin to arrive. No way in hell was he going to enter this juice place alone, people might think he’s some kind of wannabe hipster.

He found a fairly clean part of the curb to plop down on and reached for his pocket to get his phone. Maybe he could spur Seungmin on by spamming him with cat emoticons.

  
  


Not a single one of his perfectly justifiable demands that Seungmin ‘hurry his ass up or else’ were answered, but thankfully it only took a few more minutes for the other boy to show up.

Seungmin spotted him on the curb and instantly his expression turned sour as he stormed towards Minho.

Minho’s grin faltered as he watched his best friend stomp in his direction.

“You couldn’t at least try to be nice, huh?” Seungmin’s voice was shaky from irritation, though the shorter had no clue what could have been the cause.

“Uh… Is this about my messages? You’ve never gotten genuinely upset about those before...”

“What are you talking about?”

“Wait, what are _you_ talking about?” Minho asked, getting up from his spot to stand at his full height.

Seungmin rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “What did you say to Bang Chan?”

“Oh!” Minho chuckled. “Man, that was so weird. He bumped into me and then apologized but got really angry about someone named Binsung and then just… left.”

“But I didn’t even say anything, I swear!” Minho shrugged and held up his hands in surrender, schooling his face into his most innocent expression.

“Hm… alright.” Seungmin frowned as he visibly relaxed while processing that information. He opened his mouth to say more, glanced down at the phone still in his hand, and apparently thought better of it as he nodded and gave Minho a tight-lipped grin.

“Um, anyway. Let’s go in then!” He motioned for Minho to follow him into the establishment and just like that he was back to good old bouncy puppy Seungmin.

Well, that was kind of weird.

**Author's Note:**

> hey :D thank you for giving this a chance and please let me know if you want to see this continued!


End file.
